A Bus with a Difference

First published on: 9th December 2020

On Sunday 13 December, a bus with a difference will be making a stop at Liverpool Cathedral.

Annette Maudsley from Liverpool Stop the Traffik explains:

“A bus is coming to Liverpool to raise awareness of human trafficking/modern-day slavery.

Hosted by Liverpool Stop The Traffik, the bus is funded by the Police Crime Commissioner of Merseyside.

"Due to COVID-19 restrictions we initially just wanted to drive around the city so people were alerted to the crime but also take down the number for the Modern Slavery Helpline which is all over the bus.

“After almost a year of lockdown, we wanted to do something that was ACTION on a visual face-to-face level, even if we couldn’t speak closely with the public.  The idea to have the bus drive around the city and stop at key locations, results in the public seeing the bus and being reminded of the issue but also enabling them to get the number for the Modern Slavery Helpline in case they had questions, needed help or suspicions and wanted to report something.

“Our aim at Liverpool Stop The Traffik is to raise awareness and make Liverpool a hostile city for traffickers to work in!  We want to prevent people from getting into unhealthy relationships which can lead to trafficking or grooming which means we are protecting our city and the people in it. 

“We want victims to know that our city does care and that there is help, and this is the best idea that we came up with during this lockdown period and also a great way to end the year by raising awareness all over the city.

“On Sunday 13th the bus will be stopping at the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool Cathedral, and The Town Hall with a short message from the Lord Mayor, we will hopefully be going on to Liverpool Airport but we are still waiting on confirmation from them.  In between those key stops, we will be driving to locations in and around the city where Merseyside Police have identified as areas of need.  We hope that potential victims will see the bus, take the number or even engage with volunteers on the day.   In addition, we hope that the communities will realise the importance of reporting and take the number to report anything they have seen.

“We will have Merseyside Police with us on the day and we hope to make it a day of impact in which we can get help to people through awareness raising in our city.

“At Liverpool Stop The Traffik, we believe in working together with different organisations in the city, we cannot work alone, we have to come together and make our city safe, making it a hostile city for traffickers and we do that by raising awareness so people can report and police can act."

If you would like any further information, please email Liverpool@stopthetraffik.org or go to www.stopthetraffik.org



Twitter @ACTLiverpool

Facebook facebook.com/STTLiverpool/

www.stopthetraffik.org
 

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